Kiernan sighed. “You will have to give a statement to the police, but Maddox is holding them off and letting you recover. He told them that you’re still sleeping, but it’ll have to happen soon.”
I nodded. “Will you come with me?”
“Always, sweetness. I have to give mine too. I wasn’t leaving your side.”
My mom scoffed. “Were you going to tell us that you are dating someone?”
I shrugged and winced when the movement lifted my abdomen. “Eventually, I guess.”
“It’s important news. You’d think you’d want to share it with your family.”
My gaze swept over the room. My father was sitting in a chair with his head tilted toward the TV hanging in the corner of the room. Katrina was tapping away on her phone, not bothering to look up. My mother was sitting next to my father in a pristine outfit, with her arms crossed over her chest and legs crossed at the ankle. Kiernan was by my bedside, holding my hand, and Daphne was on the other side glaring at my mother.
“She’s had more important matters happening in her life. How about instead of scolding her for not telling you about her man, you ask how she’s feeling after she was just stabbed by a man trying to murder her?” Kiernan seethed. He shook his head and turned back to me. I grimaced.
“Everyone has been here to see you. They’ve been in the waiting room, but they’ll only allow so many back here. When we go home and you’re up for it, they’d like to come visit.”
“I’d like that,” I said.
“Pretty sure they’re all planning for us to never cook again. Harper organized a food schedule for them to bring us dinners and stuff. I told them they didn’t have to, that I’d take care of you, but I’m sure you’re getting to know them and know they didn’t listen to a word I said.”
I chuckled and held my side. A doctor hadn’t come by yet since I’d been awake, so I didn’t know what had happened or what damage had been done. The doctor had been waiting for me to wake up before giving the full details, since Kiernan had claimed he was more family to me than my parents.
“They’re sweet,” I said, talking about the girls in the group. I wanted Daphne to meet them. I knew she’d like them and would fit in just as well as I did. “Harper should be at home preparing to have her baby. She’s due any day now.”
Kiernan snorted. “I know. Roman is dragging her home, but she argued that if she goes into labor while checking on you, she’s in good hands because she’s already at the hospital.”
I bit my lip to keep from laughing. I didn’t want to flinch. Every time I did, Kiernan winced. A man in black scrubs strolled into the room. “It’s good to see you awake, Ms. Conroy. I’m Dr. Murphy. How are you feeling?”
“Sore and tired,” I said. “What happened?”
“You were quite lucky for the most part. The stab wound caused a lot of blood loss and nicked your appendix. So you had surgery to remove that, but it missed all other organs. It could’ve been much worse. It’s the blood loss that is making you tired. Your body is working hard to replenish it. You’ll need to take it easy and rest. Allow others to help you. The more you rest and take care of yourself right now, the better you’ll start to feel. I’m discharging you with the promise that you’ll rest.”
“I’ll make sure she does,” Kiernan said, lifting my hand and kissing the back of it.
“Thank you, Dr. Murphy.”
He nodded and exited just as fast as he’d come. I sighed, a weight lifting off of my shoulders. I wasn’t going to miss my appendix, and I was grateful I hadn’t been hurt in any other way.
“I suppose your fat roll came in handy for something,” my mother said, snickering. “The knife had so much to go through, you were practically uninjured.”
Kiernan froze and started turning red. “Kiernan,” I said quietly, “just ignore her.” He shook his head and slowly turned toward my mother. Then he stood up and stared her down.
My mother rolled her eyes. “It was only a joke. My goodness, he’s just like you, can’t handle a joke. I guess it is a match made in heaven.”
I shook my head. It really wasn’t worth Kiernan getting angry. For the first time in as long as I could remember, her jab at me didn’t hurt at all. Even when I’d trained myself to let it roll off my back, I’d still felt bruised, just not as battered as before. Right now, though, I felt nothing as she made fun of me even while in a hospital bed. I squeezed Kiernan’s hand and he turned to face me. When his jade-green eyes landed on me, I smiled.
It was because of him and his encouragement to find my confidence and worth that I was able to ignore those jabs.
“You may be okay, sweetness, but I’m not,” he said quietly to me and turned back to my mother. “You will never speak to Caroline like that again.”
“I’m her mother, you can’t tell me how to speak to my own daughter.”
Kiernan scoffed. “I can and I will. I’m going to marry her and have babies with her. You may have raised her, but she’s amazing in spite of you, not because of you. My role in her life will far outweigh yours so, yes, I can tell you how you are not allowed to speak to her.”
My heart fluttered. I wanted to marry Kiernan one day and have babies with him, wanted to experience what life had to offer for two people madly and insanely in love with each other. I glanced at Daphne. She fanned herself, and I bit my lip to stop myself from laughing. Her eyes were shining. She stood and leaned over to whisper in
